One might think the Navy women's basketball team was rooting for American to upset top-seeded Bucknell in the Patriot League Tournament semifinals on Friday night.

After all, the Bison had swept the Midshipmen on the way to winning the regular season championship.

However, Navy's players were actually happy as they sat in the stands at Sojka Pavilion and saw Bucknell beat American, 69-57. It means the second-seeded Mids (23-8) must meet the Bison (26-5) on their home court in front of a hostile crowd.

"When we saw that Bucknell won, we were really excited," Navy senior Sarita Condie said. "We get one last chance to prove we can beat the first place team. I think there's no better way to win a championship than to have to play the toughest team to get it."

Condie was largely responsible for punching Navy's ticket to the final, scoring a career-high 26 points and making a miraculous 3-pointer with five-tenths of a second remaining in a thrilling 54-53 victory over archrival Army.

The Midshipmen are back in the final for the first time since 2013 and seeking the fourth conference championship in program history.

"I'm really excited that I get to play one more game with this team. That's almost as important to me as making the championship game," Condie said. "We have such a close bond with each other. Everyone is excited that we get to suit up again and go to battle one more time."

Navy will need one of its best efforts of the season to knock off Bucknell, which went 16-2 and won the Patriot League regular season crown by two games. The Bison only slipped up twice, falling to American and Holy Cross in consecutive contests at the beginning of February.

"Bucknell has good players at every position, good point guard play, good size and good shooters," Navy head coach Stefanie Pemper said. "Just a really solid basketball team with three good seniors."

Bucknell is led by senior wing Claire DeBoer, who was voted Patriot League Player of the Year after averaging 15.9 points, 7.2 rebounds and 2.5 assists. The versatile 6-foot-1 guard-forward leads the Bison in scoring and steals (34) while ranking second in rebounds and assists.

"Claire is a very well-rounded player. She rebounds, defends and scores in a variety of ways," Bucknell head coach Aaron Roussell said. "She's an incredibly sefless team player and a tremendous leader."

Pemper believes the Patriot League coaches chose DeBoer as Player of the Year because of her penchant for making big plays at the end of games.

"They are very comfortable with the ball in her hands down the stretch because she's such a good closer," Pemper said.

Forward Kaitlyn Slagus, who posted 13 double-doubles this season, earned second team All-Patriot League. The 6-foot-2 sophomore almost averaged a double-double while ranking second on the squad with 12.7 points and second in the conference with 9.2 rebounds.

Slagus teams with 6-foot-2 forward Sune Swart to give Bucknell twin towers in the frontcourt. Swart, who averages 11.2 points and 6.2 rebounds, was named third team all-conference. Lightning-quick sophomore point guard Kia English and heady senior wing guard Megan McGurk round out the starting lineup. English was an All-Rookie selection last season while McGurk has made 101 career starts and leads the Bison with 92 assists.

Bucknell beat Navy 67-64 in a back-and-forth battle in Lewisburg on Dec. 30 then came back from a double-digit deficit to win 63-54 in Annapolis on Feb. 25. Pemper was more disappointed with what happened in the second meeting as the Bison outscored the Mids 25-6 in the fourth quarter at Alumni Hall.

"We feel like we've played six good quarters out of eight against them," Pemper said. "We just watched the most recent game and we simply didn't score in the fourth quarter. It just kind of all came crashing down in the last four minutes."

While Bucknell was favored to capture the Patriot League championship, Navy was picked sixth out of 10 teams in the preseason poll. The Midshipmen surprised everyone by using an up-tempo style to place second with a 14-4 record. Pemper wisely had her club push the pace and spread the floor to minimize its lack of size and exploit its speed and quickness advantage.

"Navy's had a fantastic season and Stef has done a tremendous job as usual," Roussell said. "Navy knows how it wants to score and has been very disciplined in terms of executing its stuff extremely well."

Condie, a first team All-Patriot League guard, leads Navy in scoring with 13.6 points per game. The hard-charging redhead was at her very best on Friday night, making determined drives to the basket for layups and draining all five of her 3-point attempts.

Junior guard Taylor Dunham, a speedy 5-foot-4 dynamo, has also shown the ability to penetrate or make perimeter jumpers in averaging 10 points. Senior forward Ashanti Kennedy is instant offense off the bench and ranks third on the squad in scoring (8.1). Junior guard Hannah Fenske has come on strong down the stretch as a scorer and playmaker – totaling 11 points, four steals and three assists in Friday night's semifinal.

Senior Justice Swett is the defensive stopper who does all the little things for the Mids. The gritty 5-foot-8 forward leads the team in steals (77) and rebounds (215, 7.2 average) while ranking third in assists (78).

"Navy is a resilient bunch. They've had a lot of games come down to the wire and always seem to make a play when it counts," Roussell said. "I think these are two closely matched teams, but two very different styles of play."

Pemper led Navy to three consecutive Patriot League Tournament championships in 2011, 2012 and 2013. The Midshipmen captured the regular season crown outright in 2014, but were upset in the tournament semifinals.

This year's team, led by the senior triumvirate of Condie, Kennedy and Swett, has forged its own place in Navy women's basketball history. This 2016-2017 squad can tie the 2013-2014 edition for most wins in program history by beating Bucknell on Sunday morning.

"This is definitely a team that ranks right up there with the best we've had," said Pemper, who boasts a 171-112 record in nine seasons at the helm. "It looks a little different in terms of the talent and style of play, but is the same in terms of defense, decision-making, unselfishness and heart. This is a special team, for sure."

Pemper was asked how it feels to be on the cusp of another NCAA Tournament berth following a three-year hiatus.

"Everything we do is focused on our players, trying to get them prepared to play well.

From my perspective, it's so much about players so I'm really thrilled for them," said Pemper, who ranks third in Patriot League history with 15 tournament wins. "We have a really good program and we have for a while. It's neat to see us back in the championship game again."

While the winner of today's matchup will earn an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament, the loser will represent the Patriot League in the women's National Invitational Tournament.